Roast Peppers & Goat’s Cheese Canapés
Crostini are little appetizers that you can invent yourself depending on what’s in season and what ingredients you happen to have around. We often serve these crostini (which are red, white and yellow) alongside our green salsa verde crostini. A pretty combination!
Serenella’s Amazing Chocolate Cake
Serenella is one of our lovely instructors at our cooking school in Italy. This moist, rich cake is addictive!
Eggplant /Aubergine Croquettes
One of the most delicious things invented! Best fried just before you serve them, but they are fine at room temperature too if it’s a hot day. These go quickly when we make them at our cooking school in Tuscany!
Apple Tart with Frangipane Layer
Moist, deliciously simple tart.
Peperonata ~ Stewed bell peppers
This dish is even nicer the day after it has been made and is delicious warm, cold and at room temperature!
Hazelnut sponge cake with raspberries and fresh cream
A deliciously light fluffy sponge with a subtle nutty flavour!
Trofie ~ Fresh eggless pasta twists
Gnudi – “naked” ricotta and spinach dumplings
These are called "naked" dumplings since they are like ricotta and spinach ravioli without their pasta "clothing". They are easy to make and delicious!
Ricciarelli – Sienese almond biscuits
For many, along with the spice-dense panforte, the light, sophisticated ricciarello is the true Tuscan Christmas treat. They used to be made in convents and apothecary shops, the only places where the right spices and storage conditions would be found.
Buckwheat crepes with squash and chestnuts
This warming fall recipe combines the sweetness of chestnuts, leek and squash with the nutty taste of buckwheat.
Crunchy brussels sprouts with hazelnuts
They key to enjoying them is not to overcook them! This recipe keeps them crunchy and tasty.
Buckwheat crepes with ricotta and spinach
These delicious crepes are a great alternative to pasta. You can make them hours in advance and assemble them just before warming and serving.
Pizza ebraica – Jewish sweet “pizza”
This delectable item is not pizza at all, but an eggless, unleavened pastry crammed full of whole almonds and candied fruit and cooked until it looks rather burnt but is in fact absolutely perfect, with the nuts crunchy and fruits bursting with flavour.
Carnival Sponge Cake
Schiacciata alla Fiorentina is a fluffy, delicately scented Mardi Gras cake. It is one of the dairy-free desserts that we make during our cooking courses in Italy.
Bianco mangiare (a traditional blancmange)
This dessert has clear Arab origins and is traditional in Sicily, Sardinia and the Val d'Aosta. It is generally made with cow's milk but in the Sicilian county of Modica it is made with almond milk.
Braised fennel, pomegranate and orange
A colourful side dish for the fall!
Focaccia with cherry tomatoes and oregano
An easy but unusual focaccia recipe which makes a rustic-textured, half wholewheat bread. Ideal to eat with cheeses and salad.
Ricotta cheesecake
We have met some true cheesecake connoisseurs at our cooking school in Italy, but many say that this has become their favourite baked cheesecake recipe!
Creamy artichoke soup
This is an adapted version of a traditional Jewish-Italian Purim dish.
Asparagus sauce for pasta
Asparagus is available for only a very short season. We love it and try to eat it in as many ways as possible before the long wait for the next harvest.
Dairy-free carrot cake
Hardly a dieter’s cake - the 5 eggs probably make up for any points you gain by not having dairy, but light nonetheless.
Sformato ~ Soufflé-like Vegetable Flans
Italian soufflés are more rustic and forgiving than their French cousins. They do not have to be eaten when just risen.In fact they are easier to cut and serve when they have cooled down a little.
Panna Cotta
The secret to a good panna cotta is achieving something that sets, but is still wonderfully creamy. Experiment with agar- agar quantities since they do vary!
Acquacotta – a delicious vegetable soup
This is an adapted version of a traditional Jewish-Italian Purim dish.